Jean Te Huia's guest appearances

Jean Te Huia

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Canterbury Mornings with Chris Lynch

Pebble in the Pond

Helen Clark

Mike Noon

Israel Folau

Trevor Mallard

Michael Bott

Gerry Brownlee

Jeremy Helson

Amy Adams

Simon Wallace

Colin McArthur

Shane Reti

Matthew Tukaki

Valerie Adams

Barney Irvine

Nicole McKee

OwlTail

According to the He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, while the prevalence of mental distress among Māori is almost 50% higher than among non-Māori, Māori are 30% more likely than other ethnic groups to have their mental illness undiagnosed. Dedicated to changing these staggering statistics is this week’s guest Jean Te Huia - a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, and woman extremely proud of her Māori heritage. As one of 9 children, Jean left school at age 16 with minimal education in 1973 and went into nursing, boarding at a nursing home in Hastings with other nursing students. She was 1 of only 5 Māori nursing students in a class of 30 students. Over the years, Jean completed a Bachelor of Nursing and midwifery training. She has been a midwife and registered nurse for over 30 years. After completing midwifery training, Jean became the founder of CHOICES, a Māori Service Provider, in 1995. CHOICES services today include Kaupapa Māori birthing, pre-school early childcare, sexual and reproductive health care, school-based nursing, health promotion and screening, counselling and prisoner re-integration and rehabilitation. They have over 80 staff and contract to the government and provide free nursing services to our Māori communities. Jean believes the real cause of Indigenous problems is colonisation, and that as a result, Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa continue to suffer with higher statistics proof in an over-representation in prisons, mental health institutes, dead and dying, homelessness and poverty. This, Jean believes, is a direct result of the failure of the New Zealand Government to respond positively and appropriately to Indigenous needs. Join me this week as Jean and I discuss the impact of colonisation and how it changed the way of life for Māori people in Aotearoa.

According to the He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, while the prevalence of mental distress among Māori is almost 50% higher than among non-Māori, Māori are 30% more likely than other ethnic groups to have their mental illness undiagnosed. Dedicated to changing these staggering statistics is this week’s guest Jean Te Huia - a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, and woman extremely proud of her Māori heritage. As one of 9 children, Jean left school at age 16 with minimal education in 1973 and went into nursing, boarding at a nursing home in Hastings with other nursing students. She was 1 of only 5 Māori nursing students in a class of 30 students. Over the years, Jean completed a Bachelor of Nursing and midwifery training. She has been a midwife and registered nurse for over 30 years. After completing midwifery training, Jean became the founder of CHOICES, a Māori Service Provider, in 1995. CHOICES services today include Kaupapa Māori birthing, pre-school early childcare, sexual and reproductive health care, school-based nursing, health promotion and screening, counselling and prisoner re-integration and rehabilitation. They have over 80 staff and contract to the government and provide free nursing services to our Māori communities. Jean believes the real cause of Indigenous problems is colonisation, and that as a result, Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa continue to suffer with higher statistics proof in an over-representation in prisons, mental health institutes, dead and dying, homelessness and poverty. This, Jean believes, is a direct result of the failure of the New Zealand Government to respond positively and appropriately to Indigenous needs. Join me this week as Jean and I discuss the impact of colonisation and how it changed the way of life for Māori people in Aotearoa.

S4:E09 | Jean Te Huia: The Link Between Colonisation & Māori Mental Health Inequality

Jean Te Huia, CEO of Māori Midwives Aotearoa, spoke to Chris Lynch about the family of a critically injured young boy in Flaxmere closing ranks and refusing to speak to police.

Jean Te Huia on the right to silence in child abuse cases

A Māori midwife says the extreme harm down to a young boy in Flaxmere is a deep-rooted problem. Police continue to make inquiries into the incident that lead to the boy's injuries at Ramsey Crescent on January 29, and are seeking any further information which may help.The child remains in a serious condition in a ward in Starship Hospital, and is likely to be severely disabled and brain damaged if he survives.Detective Inspector Mike Foster says the critical injuries sustained by a 4-year-old boy are some of the most severe injuries he has seen on a child in 30 years of policing.Police have been speaking to a number of people in relation to the boy's injuries, but would ask anyone else who may be able to help, to come forward.Police have reportedly spoken to family, but they are not telling them anything. Māori Midwives Aotearoa Jean Te Huia told Heather du Plessis-Allan that is not acceptable, but she says we need to look at the wider social issues behind why this happened."We've got families that are second, third, fourth generation beneficiaries. They've got no hope or income. They generally live with no housing and substandard food. They are hopeless situations."She says this is an indictment on families that are severely stressed, and that our country does not care for the underprivileged. "I do believe there is a sensationalism around Māori children being hurt in our community. Since 1986, there have been 70 plus children either murdered or killed at the hands of their children. Only 18 of them were Māori."

A Māori midwife says the extreme harm down to a young boy in Flaxmere is a deep-rooted problem.  Police continue to make inquiries into the incident that lead to the boy's injuries at Ramsey Crescent on January 29, and are seeking any further information which may help. The child remains in a serious condition in a ward in Starship Hospital, and is likely to be severely disabled and brain damaged if he survives. Detective Inspector Mike Foster says the critical injuries sustained by a 4-year-old boy are some of the most severe injuries he has seen on a child in 30 years of policing. Police have been speaking to a number of people in relation to the boy's injuries, but would ask anyone else who may be able to help, to come forward. Police have reportedly spoken to family, but they are not telling them anything.  Māori Midwives Aotearoa Jean Te Huia told Heather du Plessis-Allan that is not acceptable, but she says we need to look at the wider social issues behind why this happened. "We've got families that are second, third, fourth generation beneficiaries. They've got no hope or income. They generally live with no housing and substandard food. They are hopeless situations." She says this is an indictment on families that are severely stressed, and that our country does not care for the underprivileged.  "I do believe there is a sensationalism around Māori children being hurt in our community. Since 1986, there have been 70 plus children either murdered or killed at the hands of their children. Only 18 of them were Māori."

Jean Te Huia: Severely injured boy part of a deep-rooted problem